Yamaste
Certified Ski Diva
Day 1 - Snowbird
Visibility was quite poor up top and we decided not to drop into Mineral Basin. Couldn’t see anything at all for most of trails under Little Cloud but it started clearing up as you get closer to the bottom of that lift. Lovely snow even if a bit chopped up. Ultimately just decided to stay lower where it was clear and lap Gadzoom and Gad 2. I’ve never been to Snowbird prior to switching to skis so I never really noticed the flats on the blue runs much. However this time I came with a whole group of snowboarders and they HATED this mountain and the random uphills and constant flat stretches no matter what trail we took. It was the worst the first time we went on any particular trial since I didn’t know which spots to warn them. Even on repeats, some people made it through but others didn’t. It was very frustrating for them and I felt terrible since I was the one who asked them to come on this trip with me.
Day 2 - My snowboarder friends gave it another valiant try but officially labeled Snowbird the worst mountain they’ve been to. (Our group consensus on favorite mountain was Whistler b/c it has plentiful ski in/out lodgings, lots of good restaurants, well developed village to shop in, and large enough terrain to entertain people for a weeklong trip). Personally Snowbird is okay for me. I prefer Alta next door but Snowbird is just fine for a couple days. However, I didn’t get stuck on flats and have to strap in and out multiple times, so I understand their frustration. They didn’t like Park City much the last time but they said it was preferable since the flats were fewer and shorter. They all kept wishing they had just returned to Breck or Mammoth which were more snowboard friendly. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convince them to come to SLC again. If any of you want to take snowboarders here, make sure to let them know at which points they need to keep their speed up. In terms of long, annoying flats, I still think Big Sky has some of the worst I’ve personally experienced. I remember many of the trails as they near the bottom and merge back got the lifts have super long flats. Having a mixed skier/snowboarder group especially with varying abilities means I will have to be more strategic about mountain choice next time.
Day 3 - Snowbird for some, Alta for me - Some of the snowboarders returned to Snowbird but most just let their pre purchased tickets expire without using the days. They didn’t consider it worth the effort even if they already paid for it since they didn’t enjoy the mountain.
It snowed about a foot between 11:30 and 4 yesterday at Alta. I started the day late but was able to get an amazing afternoon in. They even kept Collins open until 4:45 so I was able to grab one of the last chairs and ski till 5! The lift up to the gates wasn’t open so I couldn’t go to Snowbird to meet up with my group at end of day but it’s actually better I didn’t.
The road was closed from 3:15 until about 5:20. Luckily I got in a bus a couple minutes before the roads opened ... just to sit in traffic for over 2 hours. Didn’t make it back to the cottonwood heights stop until ~7:45. Our normal drive time other days was about 16-18 minutes. But overall I was lucky, I know people waited outside in the cold at Snowbird Center for hours waiting for a bus to pick them up. Our bus didn’t even pick up anyone from snowbird center or Creekside on the way down because apparently there was a bus that got stuck at Snowbird Center parking lot for a while.
Thankful we made it down. I would have willingly gotten on ANY bus route as long as it got me off the mountain. We inquired about room rates in case we were stuck. About 600/night for the cheapest room.
Day 4 - Attempted Alta but road closed
This morning I tried going up again but they closed the road after an avalanche caused one car to go off road. They got another foot plus over night for about 25 inches total. And after closing roads from 8 pm last night to 8 this morning for avalanche control, these things can still happen.
This is from the Utah DOT
Glad to hear they were okay.
This is my first time using the UTA buses and and I highly recommend them. Prompt (when the roads weren’t closed) and you can pay with the phone app if you (like me) don’t ever carry cash. Alternatively, you can pay with a preloaded card or cash. It’s 4.50 per person for a one way fare. There is no roundtrip discount.
Sadly, I’ll be headed home tmr. I really wanted to try the afternoon off trail workshop ... there’s always next season. I was actually debating whether or not I would be a good fit for it since I’m not sure if I’m an “advanced.” I don’t want to hold back the group but I usually don’t have anyone who skis with me who’s as eager to explore new blacks or aifjrlh off trail so I would like to have a guide take me places and show me how to do it safely and let me know how to adjust technique for such conditions.
Still I had a really fun powder day on day 3 even if it was on blues and easier blacks. I think this time I just accepted being bounced around a little when it was cruddy (which was most of the time) and leaned into it, enjoyed getting some speed on easier terrain, and enjoyed the the fluffy, cloudy goodness on ungroomed trails. So despite feeling bad for my friends who didn’t enjoy the trip as much, a good couple days.
This experience also makes me want to get slopeside or base lodgings next time to avoid the road closure issues. Any recommendations for affordable places to look would be appreciated.
Visibility was quite poor up top and we decided not to drop into Mineral Basin. Couldn’t see anything at all for most of trails under Little Cloud but it started clearing up as you get closer to the bottom of that lift. Lovely snow even if a bit chopped up. Ultimately just decided to stay lower where it was clear and lap Gadzoom and Gad 2. I’ve never been to Snowbird prior to switching to skis so I never really noticed the flats on the blue runs much. However this time I came with a whole group of snowboarders and they HATED this mountain and the random uphills and constant flat stretches no matter what trail we took. It was the worst the first time we went on any particular trial since I didn’t know which spots to warn them. Even on repeats, some people made it through but others didn’t. It was very frustrating for them and I felt terrible since I was the one who asked them to come on this trip with me.
Day 2 - My snowboarder friends gave it another valiant try but officially labeled Snowbird the worst mountain they’ve been to. (Our group consensus on favorite mountain was Whistler b/c it has plentiful ski in/out lodgings, lots of good restaurants, well developed village to shop in, and large enough terrain to entertain people for a weeklong trip). Personally Snowbird is okay for me. I prefer Alta next door but Snowbird is just fine for a couple days. However, I didn’t get stuck on flats and have to strap in and out multiple times, so I understand their frustration. They didn’t like Park City much the last time but they said it was preferable since the flats were fewer and shorter. They all kept wishing they had just returned to Breck or Mammoth which were more snowboard friendly. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to convince them to come to SLC again. If any of you want to take snowboarders here, make sure to let them know at which points they need to keep their speed up. In terms of long, annoying flats, I still think Big Sky has some of the worst I’ve personally experienced. I remember many of the trails as they near the bottom and merge back got the lifts have super long flats. Having a mixed skier/snowboarder group especially with varying abilities means I will have to be more strategic about mountain choice next time.
Day 3 - Snowbird for some, Alta for me - Some of the snowboarders returned to Snowbird but most just let their pre purchased tickets expire without using the days. They didn’t consider it worth the effort even if they already paid for it since they didn’t enjoy the mountain.
It snowed about a foot between 11:30 and 4 yesterday at Alta. I started the day late but was able to get an amazing afternoon in. They even kept Collins open until 4:45 so I was able to grab one of the last chairs and ski till 5! The lift up to the gates wasn’t open so I couldn’t go to Snowbird to meet up with my group at end of day but it’s actually better I didn’t.
The road was closed from 3:15 until about 5:20. Luckily I got in a bus a couple minutes before the roads opened ... just to sit in traffic for over 2 hours. Didn’t make it back to the cottonwood heights stop until ~7:45. Our normal drive time other days was about 16-18 minutes. But overall I was lucky, I know people waited outside in the cold at Snowbird Center for hours waiting for a bus to pick them up. Our bus didn’t even pick up anyone from snowbird center or Creekside on the way down because apparently there was a bus that got stuck at Snowbird Center parking lot for a while.
Thankful we made it down. I would have willingly gotten on ANY bus route as long as it got me off the mountain. We inquired about room rates in case we were stuck. About 600/night for the cheapest room.
Day 4 - Attempted Alta but road closed
This morning I tried going up again but they closed the road after an avalanche caused one car to go off road. They got another foot plus over night for about 25 inches total. And after closing roads from 8 pm last night to 8 this morning for avalanche control, these things can still happen.
This is from the Utah DOT
Glad to hear they were okay.
This is my first time using the UTA buses and and I highly recommend them. Prompt (when the roads weren’t closed) and you can pay with the phone app if you (like me) don’t ever carry cash. Alternatively, you can pay with a preloaded card or cash. It’s 4.50 per person for a one way fare. There is no roundtrip discount.
Sadly, I’ll be headed home tmr. I really wanted to try the afternoon off trail workshop ... there’s always next season. I was actually debating whether or not I would be a good fit for it since I’m not sure if I’m an “advanced.” I don’t want to hold back the group but I usually don’t have anyone who skis with me who’s as eager to explore new blacks or aifjrlh off trail so I would like to have a guide take me places and show me how to do it safely and let me know how to adjust technique for such conditions.
Still I had a really fun powder day on day 3 even if it was on blues and easier blacks. I think this time I just accepted being bounced around a little when it was cruddy (which was most of the time) and leaned into it, enjoyed getting some speed on easier terrain, and enjoyed the the fluffy, cloudy goodness on ungroomed trails. So despite feeling bad for my friends who didn’t enjoy the trip as much, a good couple days.
This experience also makes me want to get slopeside or base lodgings next time to avoid the road closure issues. Any recommendations for affordable places to look would be appreciated.